Walker hits Romney campaign as too passive

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker criticized Mitt Romney’s campaign on Wednesday for being too passive in its response to attacks from the campaign of President Obama.

The Republican governor, considered a rising star in the party, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he thinks Mr. Romney has done too little to lay out his own vision for the country and is relying too heavily on public dissatisfaction to sweep the president from office in November.

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“I think there’s a lot of caution,” he said. “I think the mistake that they’ve made is this feeling that [the race] can just be a referendum on the president.”

The presumptive GOP presidential nominee has been criticized throughout the primary season and general election race for failing to control the campaign narrative, as he has faced repeated attack ads from Democrats and even some of his GOP primary rivals over his political qualifications and financial background.

The Romney campaign has responded in recent weeks by attacking President Obama’s economic record and foreign policies, but Mr. Walker said he thinks the former Massachusetts governor needs to do a better job of touting his own political experience and successful business background as reasons why voters should elect him.

Mr. Walker said he hopes that Mr. Romney will put forth a more aggressive, self-assured message at next month’s Republican National Convention in Tampa.

“People won’t just vote somebody out, they want to vote somebody in,” he said. “The two have to go hand in hand.”